Stade Francais flanker
James Haskell scored two tries and waltzed off with the Man
of the Match award as England beat Wales 30-17 in their
opening RBS Six Nations encounter.
The former Wasps man was
instrumental to the victory, going over for scores in either
half as Martin Johnson’s side tripled their try count from
their entire autumn international campaign.
Scrum-half Danny Care
grabbed England’s other try, with Toulon fly-half Jonny
Wilkinson chipping in with three conversions and a trio of
penalties as he completed an immaculate afternoon from the
place-kicking tee.
Wales hit back with two
second-half tries as they threatened a late rally, but the
game’s turning point proved Alun Wyn-Jones’ 34th-minute
yellow card for a deliberate trip. The match was level 3-3
at the time, but England went on to score 17 unanswered
points during the next 10 minutes, with converted tries
either side of half time from Haskell and then Care.
Haskell’s score came as
the climax to mounting forward pressure on the Welsh line,
with the Stade Francais player finally plunging over from
close range as the visitors’ defence eventually cracked.
Care’s try was a more
cavalier affair, with the sparky scrum-half jinking over
after a counter-attack initiated by captain Steve Borthwick
ripping the ball free. Number eight Nick Easter took it on
before Care darted in from the 22 to send England’s home
fans into a heart rendition of “Swing Low”.
Wilkinson kicked both
conversions, and added a penalty for good measure as the
hosts moved 20-3 ahead, but just when it seemed they had the
complete ascendancy a wayward Delon Armitage pass proved the
catalyst for a period of sustained pressure from Wales.
Prop Adam Jones eventually
found an easy way through as the Welsh retained the ball
through multiple phases, and then – with nine minutes
remaining – Perpignan target James Hook slalomed over for a
neatly taken individual try. Former Clermont Auvergne
fly-half Stephen Jones kicked both conversions to bring
Wales back to within three points, but Armitage then made
amends for his earlier profligacy with a timely interception
that culminated in Haskell’s second try of the match – and
his England career.
Toby Flood initiated the
attack from Armitage’s quick ball, with Mathew Tait then
taking it on before a neat reverse flip enabled Haskell to
run in for the clincher. Wilkinson landed the conversion and
then added a further penalty as time ran down, with England
eventually triumphing by a 13-point margin as they opened up
with a morale-boosting win.
Johnson acknowledged
afterwards that there was still much to do, but he had
genuine grounds for satisfaction after a testing few months
under the microscope. The win was everything in this
situation, and he also had the added bonus of under-pressure
skipper Borthwick putting in a captain’s display.
“Of
course there is a bit of relief, but also the frustration we
can do better than that. We will enjoy the win, but we get
back in next week and we know we can get better,” said
Johnson as he looked ahead to next weekend’s Italian clash.
He expressed
disappointment at the mid-second half wobble that allowed
Wales to score twice, but praised his team for having the
mettle to win out in the end.
"They scored
two tries and we were under pressure, but ultimately we
found a way to win and we took our try at the end very well.
You have to find a way to win, and we did,” he added.
Man-of-the-Match Haskell was understandably delighted with
both his own performance and that of the team: “We created a
great atmosphere here, we’re very excited about what we’re
doing and it’s just a step in the right direction,” he told
the BBC afterwards.
